Around Rootstown
by Susan Jenior

The annual Rover Reverse Raffle, Silent Auction and Vegas Night is set for this Saturday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Randolph next to St. Joseph's School on Waterloo Road.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with dinner served at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $45 per person and include dinner, beverages and a shot at the grand prize of $1,500. Tickets without a meal are $30 per person.

Proceeds from the event benefit Rootstown athletic teams.

Past Silent Auction items have included an overnight trip to Amish country, a seven-day stay at a Florida vacation home and a one-night stay at Mountaineer Casino and Resort.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Rootstown athletic director Keith Waesch at 330-325-2006.

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The First Congregational Church of Rootstown, United Church of Christ will host the regular monthly dinner in the Pilgrim Hall on Saturday.

Open from 4 to 7 p.m., the dinner features roast pork and dressing as well as vegetables, salads and homemade desserts.

With Easter and Holy Week at the end of the month, the church is a busy place throughout March. Among the scheduled events are a Children's Easter Party set for March 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children bring six hard-boiled eggs ready to dye and will enjoying coloring the eggs, making crafts, hunting for plastic Easter eggs filled with goods and eat a light lunch of hot dogs, chips, cookies and beverages.

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The Rootstown High School Drama Club is taking a different route this spring as the many seniors and students prepare to perform "Whatever Night Live."

Student actors and actresses will perform in a series of "Saturday Night Live"-type skits written by the students. It is a unique experience and a creative send-off for the many seniors taking part in Rootstown Drama the past four years.

A few of the skits include "Black Friday," "Rehab," "Body Shop" and "Movie Theater."

The 20 students involved in Rootstown Drama this season are looking forward to presenting their original production on April 5 and 6 beginning at 7 p.m. on stage at Rootstown Middle School.

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Congratulations to Rootstown's own Dusty Armadillo, selected as a final nominee for the 48th Academy of Country Music Awards for Nightclub of the Year. How great is that?

The Dusty Armadillo has literally put Rootstown on the map as a great place for country music.

Loved by performers, the Dusty provides an intimate setting for bands and singers to play to an appreciative audience of both listeners and dancers.

Special nights including College ID nights on Wednesdays and family nights on some Sundays give the Dusty a great reputation for all ages on selected nights.

Before it was known as simply The Dusty, the building welcomed seniors as The Maples. Travel throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania and seniors always identified Rootstown as the place they went to dance.

The Dusty has done the same for Rootstown and country music.

When our family stopped at a country music nightclub in Florida, the disc jockey was well aware of the Dusty Armadillo. We didn't even have to say we were from Rootstown … he already knew where the Dusty was located.

Good luck to the Dusty Armadillo. While winning would be outstanding, this is truly one of those times when the nomination was an honor.

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330-206-9083

Each month, the Rootstown Lions Club honors students in the Rootstown Local Schools because they are good students: good in the classroom, a good person, have good work habits and are good as well as helpful to their fellow classmates. Students earning the honor at Rootstown Elementary School from October through February include, from left, Max Orman, Jace Laney, Portia Svenson, Peighton King and Melanie Plecko.